Kids in the Kitchen-Bran Flax Muffins

 

Sometimes you hear parents tell their children 'You'll thank me for this someday.'  One such thing for me was cooking night.  We had cooking night from the time we turned about eleven until we left the house (which for all of us was after college).  At the time, I didn't thank my parents for this, but I certainly do now.  Were it not for the weekly chore of planning, preparing, serving and cleaning up after our 6:00 nightly family dinner, I don't know that I'd love cooking as much as I do now.  So...here it is....Thank you, Mom and Dad.  There.  I said it. 

I'd love for our boys to have the same love of cooking, but at the very least, I plan to teach them how to cook for themselves.  Last night was Kids in the Kitchen night.  They were gifted chef's outfits for Christmas and were eager to try them out. 

And in a house with boys, I suppose kitchen utensils do sometimes double as swords.  They couldn't help themselves.

Recently, I read about mise en place meaning to have everything ready to go before you start cooking.  Never is this more applicable to me than when kids are helping, especially when there's more than one. 

We had so much fun, though!  They each got a turn helping run the food processor, stirring the bowl and dumping ingredients. 

At one point, I realized I'd been literally cornered.  Roman, the dog, had taken up kitchen real estate as well.  Some folks give me a hard time for letting my dog in the kitchen, but I love it.  He keeps me company and I never have to clean up anything I drop.  He's pretty johnny on the spot with any spills and such.  It's a symbiotic relationship I suppose. 

They could hardly wait for the timer to go off.  Jacob's eyes were glued to the stove timer and he was slightly disgruntled when I had to add an extra five minutes since they weren't done.  Patience, little grasshopper, patience!

To pass the time, they had a little wrestling match. 

Finally, after 20 excruciatingly long minutes, they were ready!  Jacob loved them and has eaten about 6 of them since yesterday.  Christian, unfortunately, didn't love them.  I'm not surprised as they are certainly health muffins, but I was hoping.  We had a great cooking lesson nonetheless.  One day, they'll thank me for it.

 

Bran Flax Muffins
From the back of the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal Bag

1 1/2 cups Flour
3/4 cup Flaxseed Meal
3/4 cup Oat Bran
1 cup Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups carrot, shredded
2 Apples, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup Raisins (optional)
1 cup Nuts, chopped
3/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Mix together flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Stir in carrots, apples and raisins (if desired) and nuts.  Combine milk, beaten eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.  Stir until ingredients are moistened.  Do not over mix.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Yields 15 medium muffins.